Independence work continues as school year starts in Bethel Park

The principal of Bethel Park’s Independence Middle School joined the staff just as plans for the building’s renovation were starting in earnest.

“It’s very exciting, because you get to design the space and the instructional component together,” Racquel Sutton said. “And when do you ever have that opportunity? Every other time, you’re moving into a space that’s already created.”

She succeeded David Muench, who was promoted to district director of student support services, as the school’s lead administrator in January.

“I came in at a time where we were finishing up the designs on Phase One and starting the designs on Phase Two,” she said, “so we could think ahead about what the space will look like, and creating it as a six-to-eight middle school when it’s been a seven-to-eight building for so long.”

As the new academic year starts, construction that began in the spring continues at Independence, which will house three grades of students instead of two starting in 2025.

Three years from now also will mark the opening of a three-story, 234,000-square-foot school for all Bethel Park students in kindergarten through fifth grade, a $95 million project approved by the school board in May.

That will mean the closing of the district’s five neighborhood elementary schools — Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Memorial and William Penn — plus Neil Armstrong Middle School, located on the property where the new building is to be constructed.

“Each of the elementaries would need significant renovations to make them safe and make them accessible. They’re not right now. So it is a limitation for those current buildings that would require a significant investment,” Superintendent James Walsh said. “Using those same dollars gets us a new building. It was an easy decision for the board to make.”

A major consideration for the school board and administrators is providing “more opportunities to incorporate 21st-century learning in the classroom,” according to bpsdbestinclass.org, which is devoted to providing information about the overall elementary-middle school project.

Benefits listed on the website for the new elementary building include equal class sizes, consistent curriculum, more opportunities for staff to collaborate, shared resources and eliminating travel between buildings for special-subject teachers.

At Independence, the initial phase of the $42 million renovation primarily involves work on the first floor, with a new secure vestibule and updated main office projected for completion by the Aug. 25 start of classes for students, as will be several temporary classrooms. The permanent first-floor classrooms should be ready in late October, according to the district.

Stephen Reckhart, onsite construction manager for SiteLogIQ, the project’s construction management firm, said that work will take place during the evening once school begins.

The next phase, which constitutes the bulk of the middle-school project and is expected to commence in late fall, addresses a multitude of second-floor considerations with respect to subject areas such as art and music, technology and physical education, and family and consumer science.

Along with the programmatic improvements, the entire building is receiving upgraded mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, according to Hayes Design Group. The Robinson Township architectural firm has worked with the district on other project, including Bethel Park High School’s construction and renovations to Neil Armstrong.